Maryland man gets 2 life sentences for killing man with axe, murder of Baltimore cellmate
BALTIMORE -- A Harford County man received two life sentences without the possibility of parole after he was convicted of killing a man with an axe and pled guilty to murdering his cellmate, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates announced Thursday.
"This young man will never ever see the light of day again to harm anyone outside the prison walls," Bates said.
In September 2022, Gordon Staron was charged with using an axe to kill a 63-year-old man at a bus station in the 1400 block of East Monument Street, police said. The victim – Keith Bell – died at a hospital.
Staron was taken to the Baltimore City Central Booking Intake Facility and charged with first-degree murder, according to police.
In October 2022, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said a deaf detainee at the booking facility was found unresponsive.
Javarick Gantt, 34, of Annapolis had been detained in the facility since July 1, 2022, officials said. His death was later ruled a homicide.
In January 2023, State's Attorney Bates announced he would join the prosecution team in Gantt's murder trial and said he intended to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. It was the first time a Baltimore City case was prosecuted by a sitting State's Attorney in nearly a decade, his office said.
"Here, you have a suspect who's alleged to have committed two separate murders, one on an older adult and one on a vulnerable adult," Bates said, explaining why he took the case.
Bates has raised questions about the city's jail system and backlogged courts. After the incident, jail officials refused to answer questions about why Staron was being housed with Gantt, a disabled man who was facing relatively minor charges.
Staron pleaded guilty to murder in October.
On Thursday, State's Attorney Bates said the case still raises questions about the jail system.
"One of the things that you do question is that they're supposed to do visits, they're supposed to look in on them," Bates said.
"The fact is that Mr. Gantt was murdered and there was rigor mortis when they found his body, that could be six to eight hours after his death," Bates added.
